


Sleep Alone

by thethreepassages



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Domestic, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-21
Updated: 2018-11-21
Packaged: 2019-08-26 23:11:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16690735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thethreepassages/pseuds/thethreepassages
Summary: "Stay, please."Barba makes a late night call to Olivia's place





	Sleep Alone

Olivia sat sprawled out on the couch. Noah laid sleeping peacefully in her arms, letting out tiny little breaths that made her heart melt. She still couldn't believe that he was hers. Olivia stroked his silky brown hair that went nearly to his shoulders. She made a mental note to trim his locks as they were approaching hockey hair length. The apartment was a mess and work was as stressful as ever, but for the first time in a long time, she was happy. She reached out for the television remote on the coffee table, careful not to disturb the sleeping child. She flipped through channels until she found some show about haunted bed and breakfasts. It looked like it was the perfect combination of absurd and entertaining. Just then there was a light knock at the door. Olivia slowly stood up and walked to the peephole. It wasn't too late, but she wasn't expecting guests. With one eye she glanced through and found Barba standing outside her door. He carried his briefcase and was still dressed for work. She undid the chain and turned the deadbolt before opening the door.

"Barba, to what do I owe the pleasure?" 

"I hope you don't mind me dropping by. I was wondering if we could go over the Erikson case again briefly, I had a bit of a revelation in my whisky."

"Of course not, come in." She smiled warmly. Barba was one of her best friends, not that she'd tell him that, and she always welcomed his visits. "Just let me put Noah to bed and I'll be right out. Make yourself comfortable." 

She walked off to take care of the boy and Raphael smiled as he glimpsed his tiny face peeking out from Olivia's shoulder. He shrugged out of his suit coat and hung it on the rack next to the door. He bent over and retrieved a pen and yellow note pad from his bag.

Olivia caressed Noah's tiny cheek and clicked off the light in his nursery. She padded out into the kitchen in her socks and found Barba digging in his briefcase. She pretended not to admire his butt in his perfectly tailored pants and turned to the fridge. 

"Red or white?"

"You know I'm not picky."

She pulled out a cheap bottle of white wine that was her not so guilty pleasure. She grabbed two classes from the cupboard and filled them before walking into the living room.  
Barba had sat down on the couch and was paging through his notepad. "So I got thinking about James' sister. What if she was the one who drugged Lindsey?"

"James isn't on good terms with his sister, besides Lindsey is her friend." Olivia muttered as she handed him his glass.

"I'm not saying that she did it knowingly"

He took a sip and made a face to let her know that he disapproved of her wine choice.

"I thought you weren't picky."

"I'm not, but this tastes like someone washed their socks in it."

Olivia rolled her eyes. 

"The doctors said that Lindsey was poisoned in small doses over the course of months. How would he be able to get access to her for any extended amount of time?"

"You're the detective Liv."

She raised an eyebrow and sat down next to him on the white leather couch. He was a damn good attorney. There was no denying it, but working with SVU had given him a big head and he fancied himself an expert now. 

"I'll talk to Nick about it on Monday, but don't hold your breath."

She glanced over to the television and on it played a woman who was screaming at the worst CGI ghost that Olivia had ever seen.

"What the-?"  
Barba set his glass down on the table and stared at the screen with wide eyes and an amused smile. "Was the budget twenty dollars for this show?"

"I would have guessed twenty bucks could buy you a better ghost."

Barba leaned against Olivia's shoulder and laughed heartily. "I think they blew their budget on lunch."

On screen the woman continued to pull at her hair and screech wildly. 

Olivia took a slip of her wine and sighed. "It's a show about haunted bed and breakfasts, I think they're reenacting someone's experience."

"I'm not sure that any sane human would react that way."

"So you mean you wouldn't pull your hair out and flail your arms?" Olivia teased.

"First of all, what would I be doing in a haunted bed and breakfast?" Barba took a sip and grimaced a little at the taste.

"Maybe you're on honeymoon with your wife who happens to be a ghost hunter." 

He raised an eyebrow. "Liv, that just raises further questions, such as why did you let me marry a complete loon."

"I couldn't stand in the way of true love." She laughed and shifted her legs so that she was sitting cross-legged and was turned to him. 

"Speaking of true love..."  
She raised an eyebrow at him quizzically  
"When will Finn and Amanda admit their feelings?" He continued and smiled that big smile of his. The one that filled her up to the brim and made her feel like she was about to spill over. 

"I'm not sure how Nick would react to that." She giggled

"I'm going to go out on a ledge here and guess that he'd punch someone."

"What? Nick? He'd never do something like that." She smiled, her voice dripping with sarcasm. 

"He's been better recently, I shouldn't joke about it." 

"Yeah, he has been. I'm really proud of everyone, we've had a lot of changes recently but they're doing great. I know that you aren't too fond of Carisi but he's been a big help."

"Are you growing a soft spot for that bumbling idiot?" Raphael teased through his signature smirk.

"Maybe I am, what about it?" She took the last sip from her glass and set it down. 

"I hope you two aren't planning to elope to some haunted bed and breakfast." 

Olivia laughed heartily while Barba giggled at his own joke. Olivia had nearly forgotten what it was like to have a friend. Sure they worked together but they weren't exactly co-workers. He knew just about her everyday cases to carry a conversation, and she liked the fact that he would never push her to talk about them. He understood her while respecting her boundaries. Olivia hadn't had a friend like that since Elliot. 

Barba raised an eyebrow at her and she realized she had been lost in thought. She quickly smiled at him.

"Sorry. I got kind of lost in thought."

"You're fine." He assured her with a tiny smile.  
Olivia's ears perked up and she heard Noah cry from his crib. "I'll be right back." She put her hand on Barba's shoulder and stood up. 

She walked to her son's room and she gently lifted the boy from his bed. She set him on the changing table and changed his diaper. Olivia walked out to the living room and set Noah down in Raphael's lap. 

"Hey Noah, what's going on?" Barba asked the small child and then looked to Olivia for a response. 

"I need to warm him up a bottle and I figured you could use some baby time."

"Just because you don't think I know how to deal with children-"

"You're great with Noah, just a little out of practice."

Raphael picked up the toddler and joined Olivia in the kitchen. She was doling out formula from a tin and she turned to him and smiled. "There's nothing to be nervous about, you're better with him than I was for the first few weeks."

"I would have never guessed."

"The only time I ever held a babies was when my old partner would bring his kids around."

Raphael raised an eyebrow but quickly lowered it again. He had learned that her ex-partner was a touchy subject and tried to avoid it. "Do you still talk to him?"

She pretended to be completely enthralled with choosing a bottle and wouldn't meet his eyes. "Um, no. We haven't- I haven't talked to him since..." She drifted off and put the bottle in the microwave. 

"I shouldn't be asking this..." He adjusted Noah in his arms. "But were you two, you know?"

"No. We were close but we never, no. He had a family and we were just friends, nothing ever happened." The microwave chimed and she was glad that it broke the silence. She pulled out the warmed bottle and tested it on her arm before handing it to Raphel. 

Olivia led him out of the kitchen and they sat down next to each other on sofa. He awkwardly cradled Noah and gave him his bottle. Olivia couldn't help but smile at the two of them. Barba was so sure of himself in the courtroom and she loved watching him bumble around with Noah. He caught her watching him and blushed. 

"Is it funny seeing me completely out of my depth?"

"No." She smirked. "It's cute." 

She pulled her legs up onto the couch and sprawled out, leaning against Raphael's shoulder. 

"Liv, I've been meaning to ask you..." His voice wavered a bit and her heart fluttered just a little. "Can we talk about us? I mean-"

"I'm pretty tired right now, can we talk in the morning." 

"Oh, um. Yeah. I can give you a call." He started to stand up and she grabbed at his pant leg.

"Stay, please."

He sat back down and smiled at her with that smile that made her melt. 

****

The next morning when she awoke she was wrapped around a snoring Barba who was stretched out on the couch. One of his arms was laid around her shoulders and the other held a sleeping Noah. Her son was the only one who was wearing pajamas, Barba and herself had fallen asleep in their clothes from the day before. He looked perfectly disheveled and almost like a father in his suit with the boy sleeping on his chest. She shut her eyes again and decided to savor the moment for a while longer.

She could get used to this.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all, haven't posted anything in a long time, but I found this in my drafts and wanted to share. I wrote this as a senior in high school, so please be kind. I was 17 and just having fun, so please critique it as such.


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